Set Sail with the Raspberry Pi Pico W

Radio-controlled (RC) boats have captured the hearts of countless enthusiasts who find immense joy in purchasing and building these miniature watercraft. For these dedicated individuals, the allure of RC boats lies in the meticulous craftsmanship and attention to detail involved in their construction. Model boat builders relish the opportunity to create lifelike replicas of various watercraft, from sleek speedboats to majestic sailboats and even historic warships. They spend countless hours researching, selecting materials, and meticulously assembling each component to ensure accuracy and realism. Many enthusiasts take pride in customizing their RC boats, adding personalized paint schemes, decals, and accessories, allowing them to express their creativity and unique style.

But what if you just want a fun RC boat to play around with at the local pond? Spending months working on a model boat might not be your thing. And if you did put in that much effort, would you even want to risk putting your fancy, expensive new boat in the water? An engineer by the name of Mr. Nr shows just how simple and inexpensive it can be to get in on the fun if you are not concerned about appearances. And as icing on the cake, this DIY boat is environmentally-friendly to boot.

Mr. Nr built his boat around the popular $6 Raspberry Pi Pico W microcontroller development board. Three old contact lens solution bottles are attached to one another and used as the floats. The electronics are also housed within one of the bottles to waterproof them. Since the Raspberry Pi Pico W supports Bluetooth Low Energy wireless communications, a smartphone with a commercial app like LightBlue can be used as the boat’s controller.

Waterproofing a propeller can be a bit challenging, so Mr. Nr cleverly avoided this by instead creating a type of airboat. The propeller, driven by an electric motor under control of the Pi Pico W, sits on top of the boat to push it along much like an airplane skimming the surface of the water. While not specifically called out, this motor appears to be fitted on top of a servo motor to allow the user to control the boat’s direction of travel.

A battery pack rounds out the required components. Mr. Nr also got a little bit fancy and included an AIS Receiver with a dAISy HAT. AIS receivers are designed to receive signals from nearby vessels equipped with AIS transponders to collect data about their identity, position, course, speed, and other relevant information. It would seem pretty safe to leave this off of your boat made of trash for tooling around the pond at the park.

In a demonstration video, Mr. Nr can be seen taking control of the boat as it zips around a small pond. It looks to be pretty fast and very controllable. It is able to effortlessly change direction and make tight turns. Not bad at all for a boat that costs a few dollars and keeps some junk out of the landfill! It looks very simple to build, and most of us already have the needed hardware in our parts bin, so be sure to check out the video if you are interested in building your own version of this cool boat.